An Unexpected Complication
by Mirror of Melancholy
Summary: Mello would admit that he didn't know what to expect when he kidnapped Sayu Yagami, but he certanly did not expect to fall in love. Alternate timeline at the explosion, Mello, Matt, Soichiro survive. MelloxSayu, many chapters.
1. A Meeting

I am so excited! I've been working on this for weeks, and it's finally up! This is my fist long fanfic, so I'm both nervous and ecstatic! (sing-song voice) So this is obviously a MelloxSayu fic. It will be strictly canon (as far as we know) until the explosion chapter/episode, in which Soichiro will steadily recover, instead of dieing in the hospital, however, he will not return to the investigation. Matt will feature rather prominently in this fic, and neither he nor Mello will die. Mello may or may not be present in the Yellow Box Warehouse, but we will see, I haven't thought up to that far. Near will play a role,and we will meet him.

I will try to update every week, but this all depends on the variable factors of homework, # of painting customers, my brother, my teachers' moods (see homework), and other tings known collectively as Life.

**I NEED A BETA FOR THIS FIC. PLEASE.**

Disclaimer: I do not own Death Note.

And without further ado...

* * *

"We got her, boss." Mello turned around as his Mafia goons entered the main room of the hideout. "Where do you want her?"

"Lemme see her. You haven't done anything stupid with her, have you?" Mello got up, folding the tin foil of his chocolate and shoving it in his pocket. He walked over to where Brian and Jack, his two smartest minions, stood with a pretty brunette girl. Sayu Yagami. He smiled. His goal was within reach now.

Mello looked closer. He saw a number of things. Firstly, aside from looking tired and scruffed up, the girl looked unharmed. Secondly, she also looked _very, very_ angry, staring at him with a look of utmost hatred. Thirdly, she was gagged with good ol' reliable duck tape, bound with standard handcuffs and had a braid duck taped to her shoulder. As he inspected it closer, due to the workmanship, he decided that she had done it herself, probably as she left the house that morning, and the henchmen had done the taping.

He pointed at it. "Why?"

"She kept hittin' us with it, sir. We had to do somethin'."

"Vindictive little bitch, aren't you?"

She nodded; loathing expression never leaving the half of her face he could see.

He slowly reached up to her face and peeled of the duck tape in the least painful way he could. He didn't really know why he was doing it, but he was nothing if not impulsive.

"Hello, Sayu Ya-"

"Don't touch me, you fucking bastard!"

"Feisty, this one is." He pressed the tape back on her mouth as he said this, hoping that it would stick well, which it did.

He walked over to a television in the corner, which the minions watched when not doing anything else. Mello turned it on to a random channel, and a cartoon came on the screen. Motioning for the henchmen to follow, he pulled out his cell phone as they brought her before the TV and pushed her to her knees.

No, no, that wouldn't do. Her angry expression wasn't exactly the type to hasten a rescue, in fact, it was enough to stop one altogether and make the Task Force take the time to think through their strategy. He motioned for one of them lightly tip her over.  
_Click!_ Perfect. That little moment of falling had allowed a fearful expression on her face. On Mello's phone was now the perfect proof- photo. He resisted the urge to laugh evilly, instead taking a bite of his chocolate.

"Follow me, you three."

Mello led them down a long, dingy hallway, and to an equally dingy door. Pulling a set of keys out of his pocket, he carefully chose one, then put it in the doorknob.

Mello opened the door and stalked inside, impatiently gesturing at his minions to follow with the girl. They entered, clumsily pulling the girl behind them, even though she could clearly walk without a problem. Mello sat down on one of the chairs in the corner as they threw her onto the bed. He motioned for them to leave, and they did.

They stared at each other.

Mello decided it would be best to just get it over with.

"I'm going to take your tape off again. But don't Irritate me or it will go right back on." He got up and removed the tape, continuing speaking as he did so. "As you may have guessed, I am the leader here; I ordered your kidnapping."

"Gee, what a fucking surprise. Anything else I should know?"

"How 'bout that I have a short fucking temper?" he snarled.

She smiled evilly. "Maybe I'll have some fun here than."

He took off the tape from her hair. "I would be careful about who you piss off here, sweetheart. I'm the only one here separating you from them raping you." He decided not to mention that Matt was also her friend here.

"So fucking what? Let them fucking try; I'll put them in the fucking hospital."

"Do I sense some discomfort? This does not sound like a pleasing prospect to Sayu Yagami." He very carefully reached into his pocket for the key and unlocked her handcuffs.

"Well of course not." She stretched gracefully, fully unbound.

"Take off your clothes," Mello ordered. He wanted to make sure that the Task Force hadn't seen this coming and bugged her. However, she probably didn't know that.

"HELL no!"

Mello was not in the mood for this. He pulled out his gun and pointed it at her.

"I said, take off your clothes," he snarled.

"And I said, HE-ELL no!"

His first instinct was to shoot her, but he quickly smothered his temper, and turned on his heel. He strode out of the room and slammed the door behind him.

"NOW, take your clothes off," he growled through the door. He heard his underlings behind him snickering. Mello turned around, very slowly. It stopped.

It seemed that he had underestimated Sayu Yagami. She either was not very smart, a total bitch, or just royally pissed off. Either way, he was beginning to think that this kidnapping would not be as boring as he expected it to be. A relief. He took a bite of chocolate, finishing the bar.

He walked back into the room, not bothering to knock, and as he expected, she was done, redressed in the clothes he had left there ahead of time. Any of his Mafia underlings would have left who knows what kind of slutty clothes, but as Mello was a decent person, maybe even a gentleman at that, he had left her modest, everyday apparel. They looked rather like the clothes she had just handed him, and she looked very pretty.

"I presume that you want to check them for bugs?"

"Mmhmm. how could you tell?" he asked, nonchalantly, but shocked on the inside. Research had shown him that she was relatively smart, relatively popular, relatively average, and not sharing in the family legacy, so to speak. Where did this flash of deductive logic come from?

"I'm not an idiot."

"You must be, for giving me his kind of attitude."

"You're kidding me, right? How would _you_ be acting if you had just been kidnapped, flown across the freaking _Pacific_ _Ocean_, and were freaking fearing for your fucking life and virginity? And you sound like my _father_."

So she was afraid. She did a good job of hiding it, because the only feeling he was getting from her was still _royally pissed off_.

"I suppose my behavior would be slightly similar. But, I would be keeping my mouth _shut_." He put his gun back in the front of his pants, then looked back at Sayu as she giggled.

"Paging Dr. Freud," she intoned into her fist, curled around an invisible walkie-talkie, then giggled, no cackled, adorably, no evilly.

"Do you _want_ me to kill you?"

"No, not really. But I am having more fun than I expected." She muttered something. "Plus, you confirming my bugged theory told me that I am a hostage. I'm right; I see it in your suddenly even less attractive expression. And furthermore, because both my father and brother are involved in the Kira investigation, I presume that _that_ is why I am here."

"You're smarter than they give you credit for."

"Runs in the family. Is there any food around here? I'm starving," her tone became sickly sweet, "and, if my father found out that you were mistreating his poor daughter..."

"Fine then." He walked back over to the door and yelled out at his goons, who were still standing there cluelessly. "One of you! Bring some food here and a chocolate bar! Now!"

He waited by the door until they came; Sayu's glare burning on his back.

Landon, a minion from Chicago, handed him a McDonald's bag, and Mello gingerly took it, disgusted. He brought it to the other side of the room and thrust it at Sayu.

She pulled out a slightly flat cheeseburger and a small pouch of fries."Is this real American food?" she asked with an adorable mixture of wonder and disgust.

_No! Not adorable, annoying and bitchy!_

"Can't get more American than that, sweetheart. This will be the room where you will stay, don't do anything stupid, like try to escape or kill yourself. Enjoy." He stalked out of the room-

"So long, Fucking Bastard."

"It's Mello."

-And locked the door behind him.

Mello turned to address the goons _still_ standing there like the idiots they were.

"None of you will you in there unless it is with my _explicit permission,_ get that? She would likely kill you herself before I got the chance to do it _myself_." He chuckled lightly. "She is royally pissed off and not the sniveling little weakling we all expected. And where's my damn chocolate?"

* * *

So there it is, chapter one! If you notice any typos, please PM me, or tell me in a review, this is un-beta-d.... Also, _please_ tell me if there are any random capitals, they're supposed to be italisized....

I realize that there is a lot of bad language, but that will only be this chapter, Sayu does not curse in my world unless she's _really_ mad, and kidnapping makes her mad for some strange reason...

Thanks for reading!

|  
\/


	2. Carrot

So, here is chapter two... There is Matt in this chapter! I don't have much to say as of now, but thank you all for the reviews, and it's not too late for more (hint, hint)

I still need a beta. Please. It would be very nice to have a beta.

Disclaimer: I do not own Death Note.

* * *

"Hey, Mello!"

"What is it Matt?"

"Can I see her now?"

"Yeah, sure. It's about time for another meal by now anyway. Are you sure though? You might end up getting your head bitten off." Mello demonstrated his meaning with his chocolate bar. "I have no idea why you're so excited about our new hostage. She's a bitch." They walked down the hallway.

"Yeah, but she's someone new with an IQ of three digits to talk to in this dump."

"I guess you have a point. As amazing as I am, I could get quite tedious after a while."

Matt laughed.

Mello grabbed a random bag from the kitchen as they passed, probably some Chinese.

They reached the door, and Mello gritted his teeth as he unlocked it.

He slowly, slowly opened it: no reaction came. Matt peered in.

"Awwww, she's asleep."

And so she was. Splayed out under the covers, hair surrounding her head like a halo, she looked so utterly at peace that Mello was loath to let Matt wake her up, but he allowed it anyway. He took a vicious bite of his chocolate bar.

She screamed when Matt gently tapped her shoulder awake, then warily looked at him.

"What do you want?"

"Don't worry, Sayu, he's a friend. In this whole place, he's the least likely to hurt you." Mello reassured as he sat down to watch.

"That assurance worries me in and of itself," she mumbled, then raised her volume. "You obviously know who I am, but who are you?"

"I'm Matt, Mello's bestest friend and techie extraordinaire. How are you doing here?"

Mello was surprised when her guard didn't immediately snap back up.

"To be perfectly honest, I'm scared, tired and _really_ pissed off, but that doesn't mean that I'm going down without a fight. But, Matt, I don't understand _why_ I'm here. I'm being held hostage because my brother and father are involved in the Kira investigation, but why the hell do you want me?"

Matt bit his lip, obviously debating over how much to tell her when Mello came to the rescue.

"I think you deserve to know exactly why you're here, and why your family is about to be ripped apart." Sayu's eyes narrowed the second he spoke. He knew that he shouldn't give out such information, but he couldn't put her through this without her at least knowing why. "We have discovered exactly how Kira kills." Sayu gasped. "You probably won't believe it, Heaven knows I didn't, but Kira basically has a magical notebook that when he writes peoples names in it, they die. This notebook, the Death Note, after which this series was named, was given to him by a shinigami, a god of death." Mello took a bite of chocolate, gauging her reaction. She seemed... almost as if she believed him.

"Well, I _suppose_ that makes sense, Kira does seem to kill supernaturally. Sure, I'll buy that."

"Well, I'm shocked. An entire sentence partially directed at me, and not a single curseword."

"That can fucking change."

Mello and Matt laughed, but in his mind, Mello took this as a challenge, and he never declined. He would get through this girl's shell if it killed him.

"Hey Sayu, we brought you some food."

Her eyes lit up at this. "You did?" She smiled. "I'm _starving_."

Mello stepped up to the bed that she was sitting, Indian-style, on, bag in hand.

"I'm sure that this isn't the same kind of Chinese food that you're used to, you know, the real kind, but it's still pretty good over here."

Mello watched as she unwrapped the food, the caught Matt's eye to show him the cheap wooden chopsticks he held beneath his back. Matt snickered.

They continued watching as she ate, holding the plastic fork awkwardly, like a pencil. When Mello couldn't take watching this any longer, he got up to sit down next to her, taking her hand and informing her that her method was incorrect. Mello put his hand over hers and moved her fingers to hold the fork properly. He stuck the fork in the lo mein and twisted it, catching the right amount. Making sure that no sauce-stuff was dripping, he brought the fork up to Sayu's mouth and she ate it. They both froze when Matt began laughing in a way that suggested he had been holding it in for a while. It was at that point that each realized their position and scrambled away from the other. Matt laughed harder, and Mello felt his face heat up as he saw Sayu blush.

"Dumb Asian, can't hold a fork right," he muttered as he slouched back over to his chair, where he viciously shoved half of his chocolate bar in his mouth.

Sayu, meanwhile, was calmly picking though the lo mein. Muttering an _Aha!_ As she seeming found what she was looking for, she pulled out a carrot, and flicked it on the still-hysterical Matt.

He immediately stopped and began to paw through his beautiful, luxurious hair, that he cared for so meticulously, for the carrot (it had bounced off onto the floor). Sayu ate her Chinese and Mello swallowed the last of his chocolate.

A full 45 seconds later, Matt noticed the carrot on the floor. Glaring, he looked up at Sayu from his seat on the floor.

"That's not funny

"Yes it is." Mello and Sayu answered at the same time.

Matt chuckled rather evilly.

"Shut up Matt."

"I'm not saying anything."

"Now you are so shut up!"

"Jeeze, calm down Mels. Just because you're feeling sexually frustrated right now doesn't mean you should take it out on others."

Mello reached for the closest thing within reach, and chucked it at Matt, yelling,

"Shut up!"

"Okay, okay," dodging and grinning, Matt calmly replied, "I'll leave you two lovebirds alone."

"You're such an annoying bitch, Matt." Mello took a vicious bite of chocolate.

"I concur," Sayu added.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. You two are just trying to deflect attention from yourselves. I'll be going now anyway. I've almost killed Bowser again, this time using the Fire-Flowe-"

During this, Mello had surreptitiously reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone. Now, he quickly flipped through the menu and played his ringtone, stowing it behind his back. Sayu noticed (Matt didn't).

"Oh. I should get this. I'll accompany you."

"Nah. I'll stay here then. I was only saying that to piss you two off." He pulled out his DS and winked. "I bet Sayu's _lonely_ without you here."

Nose in the air, Mello left, fuming inside. His ringtone was annoying.

* * *

This chapter was kinda filler... but I have a reason. I need to bring this out until April before the whole Takada stuff, because I gave up anime for Lent, and I can't refresh. So, also, if there are any factual discrepancies, please tell me and I'll fix them the best I can. And I really want to maake their relationship real, and that takes time.

Also, I'm really sorry if I offended anyone with the Asian comment, but those are completely not my words at all, that was Mello.

I did make Matt anoying, before any Matt fans start complaining, but he was very amused by this and is rather immature anyway.

The same old same old with please tell me if you found a typo, I will love you forever. So thanks for reading!

|  
\/


	3. The Product of a Pencil

So here it is, chapter 3! I decided to throw away the every Friday thing, and I will just update when each chapter is finished.

Disclaimer: I do not own Death Note.

But, I do need a beta reader.

* * *

About an hour after storming off from Sayu's room after Matt's statements, that, while annoying, had struck some sort of chord inside him, Mello snapped. He couldn't take it any more. He had to _know _and he was so_ bored._

Grabbing the chess set, Mello walked down the hall to Sayu's room and bit into his chocolate.

Deciding to be polite, he knocked on the door.

"Go jump off a cliff," came Sayu's voice.

He opened the door anyway.

"You sure about that?" he asked grinning, while also noticing that The Useless Lump was still playing his damned video game, and that Sayu was... drawing him? Mello stepped in and closed the door behind him. "I bet you're pretty bored, huh, Sayu?"

"In seven seconds I will be. Dibs on white."

"I play winner."

Mello set up the chess set, and seven seconds later, as predicted, Sayu turned her paper around. He waited for Matt to finish looking and  
OCD-edly straightened the pieces.

Mello stood up and looked at Sayu's drawing, wondering where she had gotten the paper. He gasped when he looked closer. This was... just... Matt was sitting there in a curled-crouched position, playing his DS. She had captured every line and shadow. This alone was beautiful, was perfectly realistic enough to take his breathe away, but coming from the screen of the DS were curlicues and lines, spreading out into the rest of the paper, as if the DS were magical and enchanting. Mello was stunned.

"This... That..."

"Hmm?" Sayu looked up. "It would be better if I had my drawing pencils. You like?"

Mello nodded. "Come. Chess."

"I play winner." Matt chimed in.

Mello got up from the bed to the small stool where the set was and sat down on the floor next to it; Sayu followed.

"White goes first."

Sayu moved her pawn, and the game began.

Mello knew that he was unrivaled in chess, even by Near, but Sayu proved to be a formidable opponent. He was beginning to wonder about the truth of he mental abilities, and if they were genius too, but just so overshadowed by her brother that no one had ever noticed. It was very possible, he thought as she took his bishop. Things like high IQ tended to run in families, and those impressive deductions she had showcased earlier with such confidence in their accuracy, those were not something normal people could _do_.

As Mello took Sayu's knight, he decided that he would investigate. That was his specialty, after all.

The game ended close, with Mello breaking through Sayu's defenses and seizing control at the cost of half his remaining pieces.

He shook her hand. "Well played."

"Well played." She smiled. "I kinda forgot through that whole thing that I'm being held hostage. You're really good you know. I even beat my brother at chess."

"Mello is honored. My turn to play." Matt butted in and started rearranging the pieces.

As Mello had hoped, Sayu took out another piece of paper and began drawing him.

He took a calm and calculating bite of chocolate as he turned his attention to the game. Matt enjoyed chess very much, but was terrible at it (for a genius). Mello made quick work of him and left only his king.

"Checkmate." He laughed evilly as he dramatically knocked Matt's king over, and equally dramatically took a bite of his chocolate.

After a moment's silence, Matt swept all the pieces into the box. "You're such a sore winner, he muttered. Mello ignored him, because  
Sayu had turned her paper around. He walked over to her almost as if in a trance, and carefully took hold of the paper. It was even more beautiful than he had hoped. She had captured each line of his body, and each shadow on his face. Whereas Matt's little swirly things had been playful and whimsical coming from his DS, the swirls coming from Mello's chocolate bar were dark, mysterious and sophisticated. To Mello, to see someone put so much care into a drawing of _him_, that meant so much. Unexpectedly for both of them, he pulled Sayu into a hug. After tensing up for a moment, Sayu relaxed and hugged back.

They broke apart as Matt snickered, pulling out his DS. He didn't say anything, just made a rude gesture in Greek, to which Matt responded to in kind, still snickering.

"Shut up," he muttered.

"Someone's PManS-ing today. Nice mood swings."

"I said shut up!"

"Sayu, you should take notes on this. _This_ is how to PMS."

"Shut up!" he took a vicious bite of chocolate.

"My family would attest to the fact that I don't need any lessons, although Mello certainly would be a good teacher."

"Not you too!"

She half smiled, not a smirk, but not a full smile. Mello could tell that she was thinking something along the lines of that this was more like hanging out with friends than being kidnapped. He hoped. _He_ certainly considered her a friend already.

* * *

So, what do you think? Here is the standard please point out typos speech, and other stuff. Thanks to all the people who reviewed, it really makes my day.

Also, in case you were wondering, Matt got Sayu the pencil and paper. It didn't take long, I guess.

In my opinion, that whole chess game is one big metaphor, perhaps it might foreshadow something of somesort?

To anyone Greek out there, the gesture I am thinking of is a flat palm with all five fingers spread out. Is this correct?

Bye for now! But this won't be the last of me, I will update very soon, I already have the chapter planned out in my head, and it's _awesome_. So, toodles. **little wave**

|  
\/


	4. Twin Nightmares

I'm so excited abou this chpater! It is so _awe-some_! The beggining is funny, the middle is scary, and the end is awkward-adorable-fluff!  
On another note, I'd like to thank my reviewers, especialy Midnight Hikari and my anonymous reviewer. Thanks!  
So here it is, my favorite chapter so far!

Disclaimer: I do not own Death Note.

* * *

That night, Mello slept, and he dreamt. He dreamed that he was...

Walking confusedly through a field, grass made of pixie sticks and needles, raining blueberries, and polar bears and rubber duckies wandering around, grazing, with a path meandering around, paved with little green rubies like in the Zelda games. Presently, he saw a mouse scurry across his path, and then stop to look at him. It was red with zebra stripes on its arms and legs, and had a yellow little ribbon tied around its tail.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Hurry, there's not much time left!" it warned in a high pitched voice, then ran off to a smokestack nearby that was spewing sparkly rainbow-colored smoke.

Mello continued down the path, not sure why he needed to hurry, but he did anyway, and he sense of urgency began to pervade in the dream, and the clouds of scraps of paper turned ink sodden, of all colors, a wind whistled through the pixie sticks and the rubber duckies began to squeak a different pitch.

Mello saw a door in the distance, just a regular door, but just standing there alone without a wall. He started to run, and heard the rubber duckies squeaking him on, and the polar bears stood up as one and unzipped their suits to become sheep.

The bleating and squeaks froze as he came within range of the door, and they all went back to their business as Mello approached the door.

When he touched the handle, he felt happy, secure, like all his dreams had come true at once, like he had never felt before. But this feeling didn't last long, because when he turned the handle and stepped through, he was back in The Mafia Hideout. He was in the hallway somewhere, near the exit, near the main room, near his room, near Matt's room, near the kitchen, near Sayu's room. Sayu's room. He heard screaming, coming from it. And he ran like he never had before, and his gun materialized in the air as he ran, and he grabbed it. The screaming grew louder as he neared and he reached the door as he flicked the safety off.

Mello reached the door and it flew open before him. He raced in, gun raised, ready to shoot and kill the idiot minion who was attacking her, and saw a silhouette, before...

Waking up. Mello sat up, sweating and breathing rapidly, trying to suppress the illogical panic he felt. He heard the echoes of Sayu's screams, and decided that maybe he should just check. If nothing happened, then she wouldn't know.

He jumped out of bed and threw on some clothes, making sure he had his gun.

As Mello lightly jogged through the hallway, he wondered what had possessed him to make him do this, and _what_ had prompted those dreams.

He reached the hallway outside Sayu's room, about ten feet away, and was berating himself for his stupidity and impulsiveness when he heard a scream. Not stopping to think, he burst into the room.

To be greeted by Sayu sitting up in bed, obviously having just woken up from a nightmare.

She looked over at him, eyes obscured by bangs.

"Are you okay?" he asked, slowly walking in and closing the door.

She took a shaky breath. "I guess." She shivered. "Nightmare. Why are you here?"

"I, uhhhh. " Mello was horrified to feel himself blushing, and hoped that the darkness would cover it. "I had a nightmare too, I got this weird feeling, and was just making sure..."

She smiled sadly. "That's nice of you. What was the nightmare?"

"Uhhhh, someone... was attacking... you... What was yours?" he walked closer, and sat on the bed.

"Same. Someone attacking me."

Here was a pause.

"That's weird, " they said together. Mello decided to take a chance.

"You know, we're both a lot alike."

"How? To tell you the truth, when I first met you, I kinda felt a connection. Does this mean you felt it too?"

"...I did. And we _are_ very similar. We both are struggling to fight out of the shadow of someone _better_ than us, and we both figure that hard work will make a difference." he sighed "We both know that it won't, but we won't stop trying. I suspect that we both have genius IQs." She raised her eyebrows. "We both hate Kira and want him to fall. We both hate that person, who is just inexplicably _better_ than us, but are still so tied to them that we can never escape..." his voice turned to a whisper, "...both just... second best..."

Sayu sat still. "I never imagined...... You feel that way too? That... corrosive hollowness eating away at your being, like you'll never be good enough?" She shivered, from what, he didn't know.

"Yeah." He paused. "I never would have thought anyone else felt that way, but like I said, we're very similar... Yeah."

"You know, I don't hate you. I hope you don't think that. I really like you; we could be friends. This kidnapping... it's kind of weird. I should hate, there's no doubt about that, but I can't help liking you."

Mello smiled his first genuine smile in over three months. "I'm glad," he stated simply, then she surprised him by hugging him, but it was a different hug than earlier, much more at ease and content. Mello closed his eyes.

With a mental jolt almost a minute later, he realized that Sayu had fallen asleep in his arms. He gently laid her back on the bed, and then pulled the covers over her. Mello kissed her forehead, before quietly leaving the room.

He slept soundly that night.

* * *

So how was it? Did you like it? I know I made Mello a ittle OOC, but I think that he's a textbook tsundere.

If you noticed any typos, please please tell me, they are my archnemeses.

Thanks for reading; I'll update soon!

|  
\/


	5. Gray Encounter

Hi everybody! I am so truly sorry that I haven't updated in almost a months. A unique combination of things combined to put this in the back of my mind. My basement flooded, Spring Break, AMI, my plot bunny fell into a coma but is better now!) and other stuff that you don't care about. Some good news, however, is that the wonderful Loves Ironic Tragedy is now beta'ing this, so go on and check out her stuff, because she really is amazing.

Anyway, I am really, verysorry, so thank you for sticking with me (judging by the fact that you're reading this) and now on with the story!)

* * *

When Mello woke up the next morning, the light hit his eyes in a spectacularly painful manner. His was the only room, aside from the common, that had a small skylight but this early in the morning it was usually covered. With a groan, he sat up.

"Morning, sleepy-head."

"Matt, I am going to kill you."

"Yeah, but you need to get up. Now."

"Why?"

"Because, silly. Get dressed fast." He walked out of the room, leaving Mello puzzled.

He turned to look at his pillow. Mello wanted nothing more than to sleep again. He decided to just get up and get dressed anyway, assuming that Matt had some sort of reason.

A minute later, he finished dressing and glanced at Sayu's drawing of him, propped up on his dresser. He smiled, before leaving the room.

Mello walked into the common a minute later and noticed several things that were both usual and unusual. The usual and expected things were his goons standing around the sides, and Matt sitting there gaming, talking to someone. An unusual thing was Sayu sitting on the big couch-thing, but that was expected. What was both unusual and unexpected was the sheep sitting next to Sayu and talking to them.

"The fuck?" yelled Mello, jumping back with an undoubtedly shocked expression. "Near?!"

"Good morning, Mello."

"What the hell are you doing here?"

"I just came to talk."

Mello narrowed his eyes. "About what?"

"Ohhhh, nothing." He fiddled with a small toy airplane in his hands. "Is there something wrong with wanting to talk to my best friend and estranged coworker?"

"I'm not working with you Near!" Mello took deep breaths to calm down. Near was just trying to tick him off. He sat down across from Near and Sayu and next to Matt. "You still didn't answer my question. What the heck are you doing here?"

"It is like I said: I only wish to talk. I find your recent escapades very interesting, Mello. How did you come to meet this wonderful young lady here? I can hardly believe that she would join the Mafia herself."

"You know why she's here, you ass. She'll be safe home in two days unless something bad happens." He stomped over the boxes on the side to grab a chocolate bar then sat back down. "How does this pertain to you, sheep?"

"I suppose that it does not. I just came to talk. Let's see... How about we talk about the Kira case?"

"You bastard! That's why you came?"

Near smiled in his creepy way. "No, that is not why I came, but there is no way in this or any lifetime, planet or universe that I am telling you exactly why."

"Huh. Fine, you can keep your little secret, seeing as it's so juicy. But I swear upon Murphy's Law that I'll find out eventually."

The little sheep's eyes widened by about a thirty-second of an inch.

"So let's talk about the Kira case, seeing as you're so interested. Got any new leads?"

"Wouldn't you like to know? No, I don't."

Mello realized that he had not taken a bite of chocolate yet and proceeded to do so with violence. "What've you been doing for the past five years? I haven't heard any news, and no one I've contacted has anything to say."

"I have been doing a little bit of this and that… Reviewing L's information, getting a team together, establishing myself, monitoring the news and looking for patterns... You have been keeping busy yourself, I see."

"Yeah. It only took me a couple years to get to the top of the food chain in this branch of the was almost too easy if you know what I mean."

"I suppose I might."

They idly talked for a few minutes, both curious as to what the other had been doing—not that Mello would ever admit it. Near seemed impressed by Mello's progress, and Mello was surprised to hear that Near hadn't gotten as far in the investigation as he had thought.

"So where are you based right now?"

"Are you telling me that you do not already know?" Near raised an eyebrow a slight bit.

"Of course I know," he scoffed, "but it would be great to hear it from you, however. This tells me that we've heard correctly. No?"

"Yes." He smiled a little bit. "I see that the Mafia has not dulled your wits. I am curious, though, as to what your plan is. I understand that you kidnapped Ms. Yagami here, but what is your goal?"

"Why should I tell you?"

"You don't have to."

"Fine. I'm gonna trade her for the Death Note, then use it to find Kira."

"And how do you plan to do that?"

"That is what I won't tell you."

Near sighed. What little energy he had seemed to all go out of him. "And you are safe here, Mello?"

"As safe as I can be in the Mafia being surrounded by angry people with guns and working on the Kira case." He laughed. "Why do you care?"

"Well it has been nice seeing you Mello."

"Hey, don't you just up and leave! How did you get in here, anyway?"

"I have my ways," Near answered cryptically.

"Who do you think you are, some sort of albino ninja? Did you bribe my guards?"

"Maybe." Near shrugged.

Matt cut Mello off before he could respond to Near's infuriatingly ambiguous answer. "He's just trying to bother you, Mello. He thinks it's funny. How many times have I told you this?"

Mello sent them both a death glare, then bit off a piece of chocolate.

Matt decided to break the silence. "How's Roger doing? Now that we're all gone, he'll have nothing to do."

"He is well; he seems to miss Watari, though. They were good friends." He paused. "Well, I do have to be going now. If anyone ever asks, this never happened. It was nice to meet you, Ms. Yagami, and nice to see you again, Matt and Mello. Stay safe."

Near walked over to a minion that Mello didn't recognize, slim and tall with black hair. He and Near walked out of the door and were gone.

"That was the most fucking weird thing. When the hell did he get here anyway?"

"A few minutes before I woke you up. Don't ask me how he got in here. I think he used his laser-whiteness rays to cut through the walls."

"Whatever. I'm hungry. Let's get some food—you both can't have had breakfast yet."

* * *

So, what do you think? I know that this almost _contradicts_ canon, but I tried to word it so that it wouldn't. So sue me, I don't really care, it goes AU eventually anyway.

What could Near's motives be? Are they friendly and concerned, or something more sinister? Why was Sayu so quiet? How the heck did Near get into the hideout? Who was the man Near spoke to that Mello didn't recognize? (it's not that hard to figure out, but I'll give you a hint that he exists in canon.) Find out next time I can steal a minute to update!

|  
\/


	6. Disagreement and Debate

Hi guys! **Looks at calandar** It's been 67 days since I last updated! Yays!

But seriously, I am very sorry for this. I'm back on track though, and I'm about halfway through Chapter 7. PLease forgive my long absence. Life.  
If it's any condolence, I'm writing an angsty and fluffy MelloxMatt, which will be posted hopefully in about two weeks. **shameless self-advertising**

I would like to thank my wonderful beta, Loves Ironic Tragedy, for her prompt and skillful editing each and every time. This would really suck without her. So you should go read and review her stories because she's just that amazing.  
I am worried about the flow of the conversation in this chapter, so if you would care to tell me what you think, I would much appreciate that. And, as always, spelling, typos, please, just review real quick, tell me what and where it is. I can't stand typos.

By the way, this chapter is from Sayu's POV, first person. Thanks or stickign with me. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Death Note.

* * *

"Whatever. I'm hungry; let's get some food. You both can't have had breakfast yet." Mello walked towards the door, clearly expecting Matt and me to follow— which we did of course because Matt was a puppy and I was a prisoner.  
I couldn't stand the idea of being bound by anyone else's will but my own. I had always had a hard time being told what to do, and having to ask _permission_ to do something as simple as go to the bathroom really grated against my nerves. And as nice as they were, I was a captive. And since I was no psychologist, I didn't know where Stockholm Syndrome ended and friendship began. Their being nice to me could just be a tactic to make me cooperate (and it was working! Grrrr!) or they could just be acting like the regular teenagers that we were. (Although in our twenties, we were technically not _teenagers_.) I couldn't seem to read those two like I can most people. But it didn't matter. I was a prisoner.  
Mello opened the door to the grungy kitchen, ushered us inside then locked it behind us.  
Matt ran over to a cabinet above what _looked_ like a stove, but I couldn't be sure. "You did remember to buy my Lucky Charms, right Mello? Yes! You did! My Lucky Charms!"  
"Sheesh, get a room, will ya? Eat them, but don't make out with the box." Mello followed him at a slower pace over to what must have been The Cereal Cabinet. Grabbing a box of Coco Puffs (what else?) he asked me what I wanted.  
"Well, what do you have?"  
"Pretty much any cereal you can think of. Here in the Mafia, we have varied tastes in our morning nutrition."  
"Uhhhhh, you got any Cheerios- the honey nut ones?"  
"Yeah." He looked at me weirdly, but got it down.  
Matt had gotten milk, three bowls, spoons, and then we sat at the rather unsteady table.  
Mello ate his cereal ravenously, and Matt did as well, but I ate slower. _Why would he have called me a genius? It's clear to any fool that I'm as average as they come. Even with a lucky guess, he doesn't know anything about me! How can... he say that?_  
As Mello stood up to get another bowl, he spoke.  
"So, Sayu. Erm, I've been talking to your father, that sounds kinda weird, the exchange is gonna be tomorrow evening. So, yeah."  
"My new toy is leaving so soon? What am I gonna do then?" Matt whined.  
"I dunno, play with your dumb games instead of doing something useful, like you always do!"  
"Gosh, Mello speak up. I think there are people in Minnesota who didn't hear you."  
Mello flipped him off. "Shut up. This isn't about you; it's about Sayu. So what do you think of that?"  
I looked up. "It's fine, I guess." _Does my opinion matter_? Prisoner. Prisoner. Prisoner. The word rang in my head.  
When we were all done eating, Matt took all the bowls and spoons and dumped them in the sink.  
"One of my evil minions will clean them," Mello explained.  
I mentally face-palmed. "You love that, don't you; being able to say that you have _evil minions_."  
"Yup. It's one of the perks of the job. So what should we do now? I don't have any other Evil Plans to carry out during the course of this one." His way of saying that he was free.  
"Idunno. Why don't we..." Matt looked up at the ceiling for a moment, then shrugged.  
This was too much like hanging out with my friends. Wasn't I _supposed_ to be a prisoner?  
"D'you wanna read fanfiction on my computer?"  
Mello and I both sweatdropped. What kind of loser reads fanfiction?  
"That's a no, I'm guessing. Well, I'm off on a date with Final Fantasy XII." Matt left, leaving Mello and I alone.  
"So neither of us have any idea what to do, and we're just sitting around waiting for the police to come for me?"  
"So far, yeah." He paused and looked around the kitchen. "I usually have something to do, and you'd be hanging around Matt, or locked in your room, but I didn't plan anything that ran concurrently with this operation." He bit into a bar of chocolate that _definitely_ hadn't been there a minute ago.  
"This is at least a bit better than sitting in my classes, trying to keep up with the constant deluge of homework. Now that I think of it, most of them will let me off!" I jumped up with a smile, then sat back down sadly. "Except Mr. Green," I recalled. "Ugh. He'll expect me to come into class with _all_ the homework that was due, and then some, and say, 'Oh, so you were kidnapped, Ms. Yagami? Why don't you write an essay about your experience to share with our class?' and then he'll look at me with that shiny bald head and nonexistent eyebrows and red nose with the little pimple on the end, and then I'll die a little inside." I shuddered.  
"Are you done?  
"Oh..." I realized that I had perhaps monolouged a teeny bit. "Yeah."  
"Sounds like you get a lot of homework. It must take up all of your time."  
"Nah, not really: I don't really try too hard anymore. There _is_ a lot, but... I dunno. A-minuses are good enough for me now."  
After a few moments of silence, I turned to look at Mello, because he was silent, and he was frozen in place. I waved my hand in front of his face. "Hello?"  
"I'm speechless. Breathe. Breathe," he told himself. "Are you stupid or something? Why wouldn't you want to be the best? You're saying that you're not trying your hardest to beat Light? Why would you ever settle for second best? You could beat him!" He was shouting now. "Just because he's a genius doesn't make him invulnerable! You could hand his ass to him on a silver platter. You could _win _and you're not even _trying_ to?"  
I could tell that he was angry. But he didn't understand. "How can I beat him? He's a genius, and I've been average my whole life." Then I realized something. "Also, how did you know that my brother's a genius? And now that I think of it, you were talking last night about how we were similar. I wasn't quite awake then, but you shouldn't have known that stuff. And it's a bit more in depth than preliminary research for a kidnapping, or knowing about the task force. Care to explain?"  
"Don't change the topic. You really don't want to know how I know. What do you mean, _How_ can you beat him? It's true that he's a genius, but you're anything but average. How could a normal person have guessed immediately why I had you change your clothes? You almost beat me, a Grand Master and documented genius, in chess, and I assure you that that has _never_ happened before. I've seen some of your records from your younger years at school and standardized tests. They're _all 99th percentiles_! That is perfect! Think back to your childhood. Weren't you always a bit different from the other kids? Didn't you always get things faster than them, finish stuff faster, and get better grades? You probably got so lost in your brother's shadow, that you convinced yourself that you were normal! Just because you didn't receive enough _attention_ for your achievements, I'm guessing, you thought that you weren't worthy of attention, that you weren't special? Am I right?"  
I was silent. As much as I wanted to shout right back into Mello's face that I was normal as can be, what he said struck me deeply. How could he know? I wasn't even going to _ask_ why he was looking at my grades, but my younger childhood was exactly as he described it.  
"Is that what happened to you? You said that you were a documented genius. Was that how you felt before you found out?"  
"Yep. I always felt like that, and when my parents died, I spent a year in a Russian orphanage until Wamm—until I was transferred to another orphanage, one for genii."  
"Is that where you know that white sheep kid from? And Matt?"  
"You think that too?"  
"Well, yeah, he looks like a sheep. He's all white. You're an orphan?"  
He made a dismissive gesture. "Psshht. Yeah, I am, but I don't really think about it much. I was pretty young and my childhood was fine apart from that. I have other things to angst about." He suddenly looked angry again. "Stop changing the subject, dammit! You're doing it on purpose! As to what I said before, I'm right, you're wrong, so deal with it."  
How many people had I used that line on? Oh, the irony. "I do believe that you are incorrect. It is I that am right and you, my friend, who are so sadly wrong. That is just the way it is." I could tell he was furious. When two stubborn people were being stubborn against each other, sparks flew, as I knew all too well from experience.  
"Yeah. Sure. You go on thinking that. Let me know when you want to face reality."  
"_I_ am. Those of us in the Reality-Facing Clan are waiting for you, Mello."  
"Pfft. Yeah, sure." He finished his last square of chocolate and stretched himself luxuriously out. And, well, with that leather, I could see _everything_. And, I didn't want to admit it to myself, but I liked what I saw. But how could I not? Even the straightest man on Earth would readily attest to Mello's attractiveness. As a straight teenage (ish) girl, well... Yeah. I struggled not to blush, but apparently he noticed, because he spoke.  
"Does this bother you?"  
"No."  
"Suuure." He grinned in a predatory manner. "Admit it. What you see here is the essence of hotness. And you like it."

"More like the essence of big ego."

"You w-"

And then there was a scraping at the door, followed by a click and a bang. The door flew open and Matt ran inside the kitchen, out of breath.

"Mello! There's a fire in the storage! They're fighting it, but it's getting really big!"

* * *

So, did you like it? What did you think? I felt like I was name-dropping the cereal brands, but it really couldn't be avoided. Do you think the conversation flowed well, that it made sense? Did it seem realistic, and in-character? What do you think will (or should, I'm open to suggestions) happen next?

Finals start tomorrow, wish me luck!

So, again: Any typos, tell me, please, I beg of you.

|  
\/


End file.
